page_title: Rörstrand
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rörstrand / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Student table at the Nobel Prize Banquet 2005 with menu and the special Nobel service; name tags are anonymized.
context_page_description: Rörstrand porcelain was one of the most famous Swedish porcelain manufacturers, with production initially at Karlbergskanalen on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm.
context_section_description: The Rörstrand waterfront site was first documented in the 13th century, when Magnus Ladulås donated property to the Convent of Poor Clares. In 1527, under Gustavus Vasa, the area was returned to the crown. The area was named "Rörstrand" because the clear lake's shore was overgrown with reeds.
  After an ”Associations contract between all concerned in the Swedish Porcelain works, which will be established at great Rörstrand in the Delft manner” was signed in 1726, a porcelain factory was built at the castle of Rörstrand. The factory had indeed been given the privilege to produce true porcelain, but faience was the only ware that was actually produced until the 1770s. In 1758, the rival manufactory at Marieberg began to produce porcellanous stoneware. High production costs, a small market, and strong competition from imported Chinese porcelain kept Rörstrand from trying to copy Marieberg's goods.
  By the 1770s, Rörstrand began producing its own version of English stoneware, but it took a substantial amount of time until Rörstrand succeeded in mastering the technology. After the acquisition of Marieberg in 1785, Rörstrand was the only major Swedish porcelain factory, and technology was not a priority. Only after Gustavsberg, founded in 1825, become a competitor, mass production of transfer-printed tableware (earthenware) took off. During the 1860s, the Rörstrand porcelain facility was one of the nation's largest factories.
  In 1900, Rörstrand employed around 1,100 people. The factory's products had an excellent reputation worldwide and participated successfully in various art and industrial exhibitions. 
  The expansion of Stockholm city meant that the land was needed for housing. The factory in Rörstrand was closed down and demolished in 1926. Production was moved first to Gothenburg (after acquiring the Gothenburg porcelain factory) and then to Lidköping in the 1930s.
  Between 1960 and 1990, Rörstrand passed through several owners, including Upsala-Ekeby AB, Finnish Wärtsilä, Hakusan and Gustavsberg porcelain factory. As of 2001, Rörstrand is a part of Iittala, which moved production to Sri Lanka and Hungary. On 30 December 2005, the factory in Lidköping closed down. Thus ended an important chapter of Swedish industrial history after almost 280 years. In 2007, Iittala, which owns the Rörstrand brand, was acquired in turn by Fiskars.
  The former porcelain factory is now a museum, in which the legacy lives on.
caption: "Nobel tableware" in 2005
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